Interst Rates Down again by 1%

LongTermLurker

apt wrote: »

Yes, Labour/New Labour have been a disappointment in many respects, but don't kid yourself that the Conservatives would be any better, especially with 'heir to Blair' Cameron and Boy George at the helm.

Boy George? Is that a nickname, or really the BJ out of Culture Club? The same one who came out of Maggie's Millions? God that would be ironic - what'll we have next? UB40 at the Party conference?

Tuggy, I don't want to dwell on politics on a finance forum, but when slagging off one party don't forget that it was the Conservatives under Maggie that started the "everyone can be a homeowner" philosophy alongside building the foundations for Scroungers' Britain by putting so many on the dole and keeping them there for so long that they got to enjoy being out of work. Yes I'm bitter about those days and what Thatcher did to the youth just about to leave school :mad:

Rant over - let's get back to money matters

MiserlyMartin

I was one of 'Thatchers Children'. I didn't feel too hard done by when I left school and managed to get a job. I think she lost it towards the end but she was a good PM, the finest in my lifetime. I remember the recession of the late 1990's which was turned around quickly using brief high interest rates to calm inflation so that by 1994 things were looking good again. I certainly didn't feel as much anger and despair then as I do in this recession.

In 1997 Brown and Blair took over and inherited a good economy which Brown has ruined through his policies and failure to regulate the banks and inflated the house price bubble which he promised not to 'allow to get out of control'. He ignored any warnings and carried on encouraging consumers to rack up massive amounts of debt through interest rates which were set too low and other policies. The MPC is not independent, anybody who still thinks that is dreaming.

Every day that goes by I feel more despair at what this country has been turned into. The bailing out of the greedy buy to let crowd and reckless who borrowed too much at the expense of the prudent, hard working sensible people, encouraged by the most irresponsible man of all, Gordon Brown. Even worse, he failed to prepare for these times. There is no room for tax cuts but he seems intent on bankrupting the country as we had not a lot spare before he started to bail out the banks he failed to regulate.

Fred_Bear_2

MiserlyMartin wrote: »

5% after tax is 4% (and thats lower rate tax). With inflation at 4.5% we are losing .5%. Inflation had better fall soon

Hi Martin. The point I was trying to make, (sorry, not very well,) is that whereas normally it is difficult for savers to keep ahead of inflation especially (as you correctly say) after tax, at the moment (in my experience) prices are now actually falling so savers are doing well. Things are tough for many people right now with unemployment rising fast, but savers can do much better than most people seem to believe.

LongTermLurker

MiserlyMartin wrote: »

I was one of 'Thatchers Children'. I didn't feel too hard done by when I left school and managed to get a job.

Well done. You obviously weren't one of the 3 million then and managed to avoid the YOP schemes. Well done. Let's leave it there then.